Improving the training of trainers for quality education in multilingual Africa

Mother tongue-based multilingual education is a lever for quality in education in multilingual African contexts. Building on UNESCO’s prior work with the African region UNESCO/BREDA, UIL and the African Academy of Languages recently collaborated with the Summer Institute of Linguistics in organising a training for teachers, trainers of trainers and curriculum specialists from state and private sectors as well as policy and decision makers. The training on “The rationale, purposes and strategies for implementing mother tongue-based education programmes which also ensure success in French” took place from 2–13 July 2012 in Dakar, Senegal. The participants came from four Sahelian countries, namely the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Gambia, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger. UIL and UNESCO/BREDA worked with the participants on two projects which will be beneficial for the training of trainers and teachers: an action research guide for improving adult literacy programmes in multilingual contexts and a curriculum framework for teacher training on bi/multilingual education in the Sahelian countries.